Black Badger and Micromilspec Team Up for an Intergalactic Adventure, and a Limited Edition Milgraph
Micromilspec has been around for a while, and has carved out a niche for themselves by producing unapologetically tactical watches, often made in collaboration with military units all over the world. Their vibe tends to be somewhat serious, which is what you’d expect given the type of watches they make, and their focus on performance and durability. I mean, it’s all there in the name, right? “Micromilspec” conjures a certain idea of a watch in your brain, and it’s probably not, well, whatever it is that Black Badger has come up with for this limited edition.
Black Badger (otherwise known as James Thompson, the Chief of Materials at Arcanaut and the designer behind many lume forward watches over the years), has partnered with Micromilspec for a new take on their popular chronograph, the Milgraph. The so-called “Sabotage” edition of the Milgraph features healthy amounts of X1-grade Super-LumiNova on the indices and hands, for that signature Black Badger glow, but this is much more than a heavily lumed Milgraph. It’s a high concept art piece that imagines an entire alternate anime universe referenced in the watch as well as the little extras that come with it (a dog tag that has been laser engraved and blowtorch oxidized, which I think just means the guys lit it on fire). It’s way more playful and fun than what we’d typically expect from Micromilspec, but is somehow exactly what we’d expect from Black Badger.
The story Micromilspec and Black Badger have created imagines a “Black Badger” character (an actual badger) who wears the Sabotage edition Milgraph as he fights the “Chrono Syndicate,” which is controlled by Grand Psycho and The Crown Guard. The Black Badger, of course, is described as the galaxy’s “most charming space pirate.” Henrik Rye, Micromilspec’s founder, claims this is a one-time-only release, which seems like a shame, because if this were a true space opera, it would obviously have multiple chapters. This, of course, could be a tease. Rye also writes in the press materials for the Sabotage edition that if you miss out on this release, you’ll have to wait for the next galactic cycle. In Star Wars terms, that might mean a few decades. We’ll wait and see what’s to come of The Time Wars.
The watch itself follows the lead of the standard Milgraph with a grade 5 titanium case that measures 42mm in diameter and 15mm thick. The dial matte gray with bright orange accents on the rehaut and at each subdial. It’s a brighter and lighter color palette than what we normally associate with Micromilspec, which is certainly welcome. The hands and subdials have been outlined in black, and match the hashmark minute track at the dial’s perimeter, and this motif along with text that explicitly labels each subdial gives the watch a “drawn” kind of feel that matches up well with the anime inspiration. You certainly buy the idea that this is a watch that could be worn by an animated badger.
The watch is powered by the La Joux-Perret L121 caliber, which features a column wheel chronograph as well as a GMT complication. I’m not really sure how the GMT is used across galaxies by the Black Badger character, but here on earth it should allow you pretty easily track a second time zone. The case is 100 meters water resistant, and utilizes a destro crown placement, perfect for lefties.
Only 75 examples of the Sabotage edition will be made. At press time, they’re still available on the Micromilspec website, and carry a retail cost of $3,850. Micromilspec
